Cabbie with fares blows over limit

A taxi driver is believed to have been on duty and driving clients for two hours before he was tested at twice the legal alcohol limit.

Kulvar Singh, 31, from Papatoetoe, South Auckland, was picked up by a routine police checkpoint on Karangahape Rd at 2am on February 19. Reliable Cabs acting manager J. Maharaj said Singh had started his shift at midnight and he was adamant he had not been drinking during his shift.

"He was drinking before his shift. He was stood down indefinitely. The company has a zero tolerance, zero per cent level - that is our policy," Maharaj said.

He confirmed Singh had been contracted to the company for 18 months before the incident. Police at the time said Singh was carrying three passengers, two women and one man, and allegedly blew 839mcg of alcohol per litre of breath. Because it was more than 650mcg, his driver's licence was suspended.

He appeared in the Auckland District Court this week and was remanded at large without plea to March 28.

He lives in Papatoetoe and is the director of a company called Randhawa and Sons Ltd.

New Zealand Taxi Federation executive director Tim Reddish said Singh's behaviour, if he was found guilty, was "absolutely disgraceful".